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Friday, November 01, 2013

Duck Stuff: Morning Mud

For the second day in a row, the Ducks concluded practice this morning with a 15-minute scrimmage for the “developmental squad,” or scout team. Damion Hobbs did his best to take advantage.Hobbs, a redshirting freshman from Texas, rifled a pass over the middle to Koa Ka’ai. He kept on the option for a run to the second level. And, on the final play of the day, a fourth down near the goal line, Hobbs beat a defender to the front corner of the end zone for a touchdown.“It was another fun week for us,” Hobbs said.The Ducks now will have Friday completely off, except for any necessary athletic treatment individual players require.

■ Ted Miller ponders the calm before the ultra-hype of next week's matchup between Oregon and Stanford.

Whether it's De'Anthony Thomas, Byron Marshall, Marcus Mariota or Thomas Tyner carrying the ball, Oregon is ripping off yards in huge chunks. Nearly 11 percent of Oregon's carries this season -- 32 rushes -- have been runs of at least 20 yards.Though Oregon's shift to more a more passing-oriented attack has been noteworthy under head coach Mark Helfrich, the Ducks are still proving they're better than ever at scoring on the ground.